Rohingya still fear safety in Myanmar, repatriation unlikely

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AP) — The repatriation of hundreds of Rohingya Muslims appeared unlikely to proceed as planned Thursday after those who were eligible told the U.N. refugee agency and the Bangladesh government they didn't want to return to Myanmar unless their citizenship and safety were ensured.

Rohingya children and refugees raise their hands and shout that they won't go back to Myanmar during a demonstration at Kutupalong near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Officials from the U.N. refugee agency and Bangladesh's government say few Muslim Rohingya refugees have responded to plans for their repatriation to Myanmar, and all who did say they don't want to go back.

Rohingya refugees play at Balukhali Refugee Camp in Bangladesh. Officials from the U.N. refugee agency and Bangladesh's government say few Muslim Rohingya refugees have responded to plans for their repatriation to Myanmar, and all who did say they don't want to go back.

A Rohingya Muslim woman, Rukaya Begum, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, holds her son Mahbubur Rehman, left and her daughter Rehana Bibi, after the government moved them to newly allocated refugee camp areas, near Kutupalong, Bangladesh. Officials from the U.N. refugee agency and Bangladesh's government say few Muslim Rohingya refugees have responded to plans for their repatriation to Myanmar, and all who did say they don't want to go back.

August 22, 2019

"We have not found anybody yet who has agreed to go back, but all our preparations are in place," said Khaled Hossain, a senior official with the Refugee, Relief and Rehabilitation commissioner's office.

Members of at least 221 Rohingya Muslim families were interviewed Wednesday and Tuesday ahead of the repatriation that was scheduled to start Thursday. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said her government will not force the refugees to return and the repatriation will only happen if they are willing.

Myanmar has certified 3,450 refugees from 1,056 families as eligible for repatriation from Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district, where about 1 million Rohingya refugees are sheltered. Myanmar's military began a harsh counterinsurgency campaign against Rohingya Muslims in August 2017 in response to an insurgent attack. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled what has been called an ethnic cleansing campaign involving mass rapes, killings and burning of thousands of their homes.

The U.N. refugee agency "is working with concerned governments to help create conditions conducive to return, to assess whether or not these people are going back voluntarily," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in New York.

"The voluntary nature of repatriation is really a bedrock of our position," he said. Dujarric said Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres, a former U.N. refugee chief, has stressed that it's important for refugees to have the information they need to decide whether or not to return.

An earlier repatriation attempt last November was suspended because no one was willing to go back. Thousands of refugees protested and chanted "We won't go back" and "We want justice," forcing authorities to halt the process.

This time, the camps have been quiet with no reports of major protests ahead of Thursday's plan. Bangladesh refugee commissioner Abul Kalam was happy with that. "This is a good sign and I think this is a good progress. Last year they fled their camp homes as the day neared, but this time they are coming forward and facing interviews and talking freely," Kalam said Wednesday. "They have confidence in us."

Kalim Ullah, a refugee on the repatriation list, said his family wants to go back but Myanmar must ensure that they would be given citizenship and safety. Many said they want to go back under direct U.N. supervision, not under the Myanmar government.

"We want to go back home. Bangladesh is not our country. But we still do not have any guarantee that we will not be tortured or killed," Ullah said as he left the interview room. Myanmar has long not recognized Rohingya as citizens, rendering them stateless, and they face other forms of state-sanctioned discrimination.

A U.N.-established investigation last year recommended the prosecution of Myanmar's top military commanders on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for the crackdown on the Rohingya. Myanmar has rejected the report and any suggestion its forces did anything wrong.